Uber to divert chunk of $1 billion funds to India, expand team in Bengaluru

Uber has reportedly decided to divert a major chunk of its $1 billion investment, that was planned for China this year, to India. The company aims to increase its operation base at its Bengaluru centre to 50, up from the current 15 by the end of 2016.

The news comes after the San Francisco-based cab-aggregator decided to sell its China arm to rival Didi Chuxing. The Uber-Didi Chuxing entity is valued at $35 billion. After Uber's China merger, India is now its second-largest market as India operations account for 12% of Uber's global market share.

"How that helps us from the Indian perspective is two-fold: one is we were spending over a billion dollars in China annually. So, that stops. We can see a portion of that being invested (in India) as we continue to grow the business in India. Number two is: we had several resources that were dedicated to our China business. Like a 150-person product and engineering team that was based in San Francisco and that was completely dedicated to the China business. So, you will see a portion of that being focused now on the India business," Uber India president Amit Jain told LiveMint.

Uber, which faces massive competition from home-grown Ola, will continue to subsidise its rides for customers in India. It will also focus on customisation of product offerings and technologies, which will later be evaluated for other Uber markets.

Jain also told the daily that several resources, including a 150-person team, have been dedicated to the China business arm and that a part of it will now be diverted to India.

Uber has successfully managed to introduce Cash payment in India, a first for Uber globally. UberMoto, which was launched in Bengaluru and then in Gurgaon, was introduced in Jakarta last week. UberMoto enables users to book motorbike rides. The company is now working on unveiling the Dial an Uber facility.